September is National Literacy Month and the Junior League of Atlanta wants you to learn how you can contribute to your child'...

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Campaigns We Love: Happiness Without Borders - Coca-Cola Small World Machines Bring India & Pakistan Together

In
March 2013, Coca-Cola set out to break down barriers and create a
simple moment of connection between two nations -- India and
Pakistan. The initiative "Small World Machines" provided a
live communications portal between people in India and Pakistan and
showed that what unites us is stronger than what sets us apart. The
key to engaging with each other through the machines was simple:
people in India and Pakistan could complete a task, like touching
hands, drawing peace, love, and happiness symbols -- together.

“The people of Pakistan and India share a lot of common passions and
interests – from food and Bollywood movies, to Coke Studio music,
to cricket,” said Saad Pall, Coke’s assistant brand manager in
Pakistan. “What this project did was connect people who are not
exposed to each other on a daily basis, enabling the common man in
Lahore to see and interact with the common man in Delhi. It’s a
small step we hope will signal what’s possible.” Wasim Basir,
integrated marketing communications (IMC) director, Coca-Cola India,
added, “We wondered what would happen if people from these two
countries came together, and the answer was clear: goodness and
happiness.

At
the end of the nearly 10-hour shoot, both audiences cranked up the
music, danced and waved goodbye to their new-found friends across the
border. The crews behind the camera joined in, too, including
the Coca-Cola teams from Pakistan and India.

“It was such
a great way to conclude what I consider to be the highlight of my
career,” Jantos Tulloch said. “Working on brand Coca-Cola is
powerful enough because of the voice and scale of the brand, but when
you layer a story like this on top, you realize that we’re not just
telling a Coca-Cola story. We’re telling a bigger, more
profound story about the happiness of the world.”